Gayle Settles' view from his home, north of Woodland Park, changed drastically after the June 2002 Hayman fire tore through the area. "The anger has diminished," he said of his feelings toward Terry Lynn Barton, shown at top in 2002, "but I'm still resentful."

<!--IPTC: Former U.S. Forest Service employee Terry Barton leaves U.S. District Court Friday, December 6, 2002 in downtown Denver (18th and Stout) after pleading guilty to starting the biggest wildfire in Colorado history. In the hearing she admitted setting fire to federal land and making false statements to investigators. Sentencing will be February 21, 2003 and could range from 70 to 87 months in federal prison.-->

TELLER COUNTY — A sign outside a Manitou Springs house boldly proclaims: “Terry Barton — you’re an idiot.” It’s a sentiment you might expect from an area devastated by the state’s largest and most destructive blaze — the June 2002 Hayman fire.

Six years later, Terry Lynn Barton, the woman who started the fire, is as much a polarizing figure now as she was then.

Some folks enjoying a cold beer at the Thunderbird Inn in Florissant on the day after Barton’s release from prison last week struggled to articulate their anger.

Others who knew Barton before she became Public Enemy No. 1 say she deserves a second chance since she has served her time and must perform community service in the counties she set ablaze.

“She’s going to find those that will be real compassionate, and she’ll find folks who want to string her up,” said Lani Griess, 56, who said she thought Barton was a good person, having gotten to know her through parent-teacher associations and other gatherings. “I think people are glad she’s going to have to come back here so she can see what she has done.”

Barton, 44, was released from federal prison in Texas after spending almost six years locked up after the blaze she sparked burned 138,000 acres in four counties.

Now, she begins 15 years of probation and must pay millions in restitution — $14 million to the U.S. Forest Service and what could be more than $25 million in Colorado for actual losses and to ensure victims’ right to pursue civil judgments.

She also must perform 1,500 hours of community service in at least one of the four counties scarred by the fire: Teller, Douglas, Park or Jefferson.

A different landscape

But things have changed drastically since that windy, dry day in June 2002 when a distraught Barton burned a letter from her estranged husband at a campground north of Lake George, and sparks ignited a fire that caused an estimated $238 million in damage and rehabilitation costs.

Families have broken apart, destroyed homes have been rebuilt, and much of the landscape still is barren and dotted with blackened tree trunks and little undergrowth.

Emotions are still raw, too.

Christoper Feagin was only 8 years old when the fire forced him and his family out of their rural Teller County home near West Creek.

They had just returned from a vacation and were unpacking when word came they were in the path of the fire and needed to evacuate.

They stayed at a motel in Woodland Park for several weeks, then started the long process of rebuilding their home from the ground up while living in a rental. His parents, Alisha Alitz and Jeffrey Feagin, work full-time jobs and spent almost every evening and weekends rebuilding, a chore still not completed.

Alitz began to cry recently, thinking how the work has meant less attention for Christoper and daughter Tempa, 10.

Her son feels robbed, too.

“I hate her for what she did,” said Christoper, now 14.

Some people, even those who lost everything, have managed to give Barton a chance to make things right.

Randy Burke lost his 2,500-square- foot home. He also lost something more precious — his wife.

“She divorced me right after the fire,” said Burke, who now lives in Mississippi. He believes that she may have not done that had the fire not destroyed all he had.

He has since remarried and thinks he might be able to forgive Barton if he hasn’t already.

“I can’t imagine what some of the people might think of doing to that woman if she’s up there. That’s how bitter they are,” said Burke, who doesn’t mention Barton by name. “But I do believe in my heart that I have forgiven that woman.”

Volunteer firefighters in Florissant declined to discuss Barton.

They did concede a positive has come out of something so negative. Residents are much more aware of fire danger now. A puff of smoke from a campfire or even a dark, gray rain cloud brings calls to the fire department.

“They’re still paranoid and don’t want something like that to happen again,” said Florissant volunteer Fire Chief Robert Bertram.

Returning home

Barton’s mother, Wanda Haddock, said her daughter will be living in Colorado Springs. Barton and her husband, John, have reconciled and will be living together. Then she must find a job. Barton, Haddock said, is nervous about how she will be received by those who live in the Hayman fire area.

As a mother, she worries what the pressure of the millions of dollars in restitution and the hundreds of hours of community service will do to Barton.

“All the hours they put on her, I don’t think that’s right,” said Haddock, who lives in California. “What kind of life is she going to have? What kind of life are her kids going to have?”

One of Barton’s daughters went to college and the other works for the park service in California, she said.

Haddock says Barton is remorseful and believes people will one day be able to forgive her. Her daughter won’t light a fire anymore, Haddock said, not even a candle.

“There’s a lot of people down there in Colorado that are on Terry’s side,” she said. “She knows she has people on her side who will help her out.”

Gayle Settles and his wife, Tami, are among the many whose possessions were destroyed. Their 1,500-square- foot home about 14 miles north of Woodland Park in Douglas County was a total loss.

He has rebuilt a house on 25 acres, taking more than two years. But the damage is still visible. A few aspen trees are all that remain among the dozens of scorched pine trees.

While Settles blames Barton for his loss, he also puts some responsibility on the U.S. Forest Service. It was slow to respond, he said, and did not use equipment that was offered.

But now he says it is time to move on.

“Initially, I blamed her 100 percent, but I’ve come to realize that was not correct,” Settles said. “It’s not the same place she left, either physically or emotionally.

“The anger has diminished, but I’m still resentful.”

Alisha Alitz has channeled her anger into helping others. Last Tuesday, she received a page that a brush fire had sparked about 10 miles from her house just off Colorado 67.

After Hayman, she decided to become a volunteer firefighter. On this day, she hosed down hot spots on the 2-acre fire, and it was quickly doused.

“It makes me feel good to know that I can go out and help people, learning from what I had lost,” Alitz said.

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